


i'm the hero of the story (don't need to be saved)

by zornslemon



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-14 01:30:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1247668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zornslemon/pseuds/zornslemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia's ten years old when she runs away to live with dragons. She's eighteen when she meets someone who makes her want to leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm the hero of the story (don't need to be saved)

Lydia’s ten years old when the royal librarian tells her to put away an astronomy book and read something more suitable for princesses like her. He suggests a book on sewing that’s mostly pictures and a complete insult to Lydia’s intelligence.

She complains to her father that night.

“Daddy, I should be allowed to read if I want,” she whines.

“Of course, sweetheart. But you should read things that will help you present yourself properly as a princess.”

“I read three books on sewing last month. I’m bored of those,” Lydia pouts.

“Did you ask the librarian for some fairytales, then?”

Lydia sighs. She likes fairytales, but she’s read them all. “I want to read about math and astronomy.”

“And what do you need to know about those?” her father asks, raising his eyebrows.

Lydia wants to say that she wants to know everything, because the world is large and fascinating, and she wants to know everything about it, but she knows she’s fighting a losing battle.

Lydia knows that there have been other royal children who didn’t behave, and she knows that most of them wound up kidnapped by dragons, or at least that’s what everyone tells her, thinking she’ll see it as some cautionary tale. It’s funny, Lydia thinks. She knows the dragons are real, since she’s passed by some of their caves on trips to other kingdoms, but she’s never see them come near the castle.

She starts to think that maybe those other children weren’t kidnapped after all.

\---

She wakes up early the next morning, too early for anyone but the scullery maid to be up. She puts on her best walking shoes and checks the tapestry on her wall with the map of the kingdom.

It’s time for an adventure.

It takes almost all day to reach the nearest cave. It’s close, but a young girl can only travel so quickly, and by the time she reaches the cave, she’s tired and hungry.

Lydia’s never been afraid of anything, not really, but she’s a little scared as she gets to the cave. Her parents have always said horrible things about what dragons do to little girls who don’t behave, and she doesn’t really believe them, but she can’t help but worry that they’re right. She’s gathering the courage to go inside when a boy around her age walks out of the cave kicking a rock. He scowls when he sees Lydia.

“Who are you?” he says.

“I am Princess Lydia,” she says, drawing herself up to her unfortunately short full height.

“Yeah, we don’t really do that princess crap around here,” the boy says, and his words are condescending, but from the way he’s looking at her, she can tell he’s impressed by her. Or at least he thinks she’s pretty. It’s hard for her to tell the difference.

“Well, are you going to tell me whether my parents were right when they said that dragons kidnapped little kids and made them toil away?”

The boy makes a face. “Well, they make us clean sometimes. That always sucks. What are you even doing here?”

“I was hoping to move in.”

“Yeah, I’m sure a cave looks so much comfier than your castle.”

“No, but I’m hoping here I’ll be treated like a human being and not an ornament.”

“Well, drop the princess thing, and maybe you can stay,” the boy says. “I’m Stiles. Come on in, and I’ll let Talia decide what to do with you.”

\---

Talia’s a large dragon with beautiful scales. She has Lydia sit down and has someone bring her food. It’s a simple meal, just some bread and cheese, but after a day of travel, it tastes delicious.

“Your family doesn’t like us very much, Lydia,” Talia explains calmly.

“Is it because they think you kidnap kids who don’t behave?” Lydia asks.

A puff of smoke comes out of Talia’s nostrils, which Lydia thinks is the dragon equivalent of chuckling. “No, Lydia, it’s because your family thinks we control too much of the economy.”

“Oh,” Lydia says. She supposes that’s what her parents mean when they talk about “complicated political things that you shouldn’t worry about, sweetheart”.

“They will send people after you, and we can keep you safe, but we need to make sure you’re really on our side. Why did you come here? Did anyone send you?”

Lydia shakes her head. “I was bored. Mom and Dad won’t let me do anything that they don’t think is befitting of a princess.”

Talia nods. “A lot of princesses come to us for those reasons. You realize that you’ll be giving up a lot by coming here, right? The cave isn’t very comfortable, and you’ll have to clean and cook.”

“I understand,” Lydia says. “I’ll be happy as long as I can learn.”

“Then you are welcome here. I’ll have my daughter Cora show you the library.”

That night, Lydia finds the largest math book in the dragons’ library and makes herself read the whole first chapter. She doesn’t understand much of it, but she thinks she will someday.

\---

A week later, Talia asks to speak to her again.

“Last night, a knight came to get you. It appears your parents are offering a sizeable reward to whoever brings you back,” Talia says.

“I don’t have to go back, do I?” Lydia says, because she’s finally found freedom, and she can’t have it ripped away from her.

“No,” Talia said. “Derek scared him off, and, if worst comes to worst, we’re larger than the knights, and we can kill them if need be. As long as you’re with us, we will protect you.”

“What’s the problem then?” Lydia asks, noting a hint of doubt in Talia’s voice.

“We don’t have a very good reputation,” Talia said. “Dragons try to be peaceful, but we kill when we have to, so people think we’re savage beasts. We don’t like that, so, once you’re old enough, we’d like you to fight off the knights that come yourself.”

“Will I be safe?” Lydia asks, because all the knights her father hires are large, burly men, and Lydia’s always been small for her age and has never gotten the chance to develop any physical strength.

“We’ll train you, and, once you’re ready, we’ll be ready to step in if a fight gets out of hand,” Talia says. “It rarely does, though. We train you well.”

Lydia just nods, because she’s still scared, but all she can do is hope the dragons will keep her safe.

\---

She starts sparring with Stiles, first with sticks, then with wooden swords. There’s no reward for Stiles, and no one comes after him, but he’s Lydia’s age, and Talia thinks every child should learn to fight. Stiles is larger than her, and he wins all the bouts at first, but Lydia’s a more tactical fighter, and within a month, she starts winning most of the time.

(Talia makes them watch the older kids fight too, and while it irritates Lydia to no end to just sit there watching other people, she has to admit that the older kids are kind of good and that she might have something to learn from them.)

When they’re thirteen, a young prince named Danny joins the cave and starts sparring with them. (He says he was disowned for kissing the stable boy. Lydia has to wonder if he got disowned for kissing a commoner or for kissing a boy.) He’s larger than both Lydia and Stiles, and he’s had actual royal training, so he usually beats them both handily, but Lydia gets the upper hand once or twice.

\---

The knights never stop coming, and Lydia highly suspects that her parents keep upping the reward, although she can’t confirm it.

She’s fifteen years old when a knight comes to the cave, and Derek says, “Lydia, let’s have you take this one.”

(Derek’s been in charge ever since Talia passed away. He’s pretty much always in a bad mood, and Lydia doesn’t really like him, but she supposes he’s okay at running the cave.)

The knight is smaller than Danny, and Lydia is fairly confident that she can beat him. He’s clearly naïve too, since the first thing out of his mouth is, “Princess Lydia, is it really you?”

“Just Lydia, thank you very much,” Lydia says, her sword dangling at her side.

“Come quickly! There’s time to escape before those horrid beasts notice,” he said.

“Those horrid beasts are my friends, so I think you should really give up any notions of being some noble hero who rescues the poor beleaguered princess. It’s sweet, though, that you’d want to come rescue me.”

“They’re your friends? I… I bet they told you to say that. Or… or they brainwashed you. I must take you away from these horrible brainwashing monsters.”

Lydia sighs. “Listen, I’m telling you to go away. Now, you can listen, or we can do this the hard way where I have to fight you first.”

“You think you can fight me? You’re a girl.”

“I’m a girl who’s been very well trained,” Lydia says, pulling out her sword and getting into the proper stance, making sure the knight can see that her grip is perfect.

“Oh,” the knight says, and Lydia can’t actually see his face, but she’s pretty sure his eyes are widening. “I could go, then.”

“That would be nice,” Lydia says, keeping her eyes fixed on the knight as he turns around and walks away, just in case he tries anything funny.

She puts her sword away and goes back to her book. Knights are all talk and no follow through.

\---

Lydia is sixteen the first time she kills a man.

Sir Peter is relentless. He doesn’t retreat when she tells him to go way or when she easily blocks his first ten attacks. When the eleventh attack scratches her arm, Cora looks at her concerned, but Lydia just smiles back. She can bandage her own wounds, and she can fight her own battles.

Peter’s large and strong, but he’s a stupid fighter, and Lydia can always predict his next move. When she sees an opening, she stabs him.

She doesn’t watch him bleed out, but she also doesn’t feel bad that he’s dead.

\---

By the time she’s eighteen, Lydia knows the drill all too well. The knight approaching the cave is slighter than normal, and Lydia thinks he must be young. That will make her job easier. The young ones usually run as soon as they realize a girl can fight.

She’s planning on leaving soon. The dragons happily take in children, but they don’t want them staying through adulthood, and Lydia’s grown up enough that she thinks she can make it on her own. Stiles and Danny will be leaving soon too, and Lydia’s never much liked the younger children. (Her maternal instincts are very much lacking.) As soon as she figures out what to do after leaving, she’ll be gone.

“Lydia of Martin?” the knight says, and Lydia does a double take, because the voice is distinctly female. That’s new.

“So how much trouble did you get in with Daddy when you told him you wanted to fight?” Lydia asks.

“My father raised me to be a knight,” the knight says. “I’m guessing that’s not how thing work here.”

“Not so much,” Lydia says. “Now before we go any further, you should know that I refuse to be rescued, and if you disagree, you should turn around right now.”

“Honestly, I just want to know what’s going on here. I was told the king and queen of Martin would be grateful if I rescued their daughter from the dragons who had imprisoned her eight years ago. I’m thinking I got some misinformation.”

“Dragons don’t imprison, kidnap, or oppress anyone, and they’re much better company than sexist kings who won’t let their own daughters read substantial books.”

“I take it the dragons taught you to fight too?” the knight says, pointing to Lydia’s sword.

“Well, I have to get rid of all the knights who keep wanting to rescue me somehow,” Lydia says.

“I’d be really interested in learning what sorts of fighting techniques they taught you. We could spar if you like. I promise I won’t try to rescue you,” the knight says. “I’m Allison, by the way.”

“Deal. Wooden swords, no armor,” Lydia says with a smile, because she could use someone new to practice with.

She runs inside and grabs the wooden swords from a small chest where they’re stored with some of her childhood toys.

“What do you need those for?” Stiles asks, spotting her. “I thought you got enough practice from impaling boneheaded idiots who think they can steal you away.”

“I have a new sparring partner,” Lydia says.

“I really don’t want to know, do I?”

Lydia just smirks in response.

\---

Allison is good. Allison is really good.

It’s clear she’s been trained and that she’s following her training. Allison’s motions are precise, like she’s practiced each one a thousand times before. She’s careful and agile, and Lydia has to struggle to keep up.

They’ve been at it for about half an hour when one of Allison’s attacks takes Lydia by surprise, and she loses her footing and falls, landing on top of Allison.

As the two girls laugh and pick themselves up, Lydia can’t help but think that she would like to kiss Allison. It’s a new sort of thought for her, since the only people her age she spends time with are Stiles, who’s basically her brother, and Danny, who definitely does not like girls.

“It’s getting dark,” Allison says. “Know of any comfortable ditches to sleep in around here? I don’t think your father will offer me a place to stay if I don’t have you with me.”

“You can stay here,” Lydia says impulsively, and she’s pretty sure she’s breaking some sort of protocol, but she doesn’t care.

\---

“Who’s this?” Danny says. “She looks a little old to be a new recruit.”

“This is Sir Allison of Argent. She needs a place to stay for the night,” Lydia says, giving him a pointed look that says “don’t mess this up.” She totally saw him flirting with a knight, a Sir Evan or Ethan or something, the other week, so it’s only fair.

“Derek’s going to be pissed,” Danny says.

“I really don’t care what Derek thinks,” Lydia says.

“Sure he won’t kick you out? I mean, you’re old enough to make it on your own. It’s not like he has to keep you around.”

“As long as I make better pies than you, I think I’m okay. Plus, I’ll be out of here soon enough,” Lydia says nonchalantly. She turns to Allison and says, “If you go straight ahead, there’s should be a free cot. You can put your stuff down there.”

(And, okay, maybe she’s leading Allison to the cot that’s right next to hers, but that just makes sense. Allison’s her guest after all.)

Once Allison’s out of earshot, Danny turns to Lydia and asks, “So how pissed would your father be if he found out that his princess likes girls?”

Lydia just makes a face at him.

\---

“So explain the dragons thing to me,” Allison says as they’re going to bed that night.

“There’s not that much to explain. My parents would tell me stories about how kids who misbehaved got kidnapped by dragons, and eventually I put two and two together and realized that kidnapped wasn’t exactly the right word for it.”

“And you’re here for life then?” Allison asks.

Lydia shakes her head. “Dragons won’t let adults stay with them. I’ll be leaving within the next year or two.”

“And what will you do then?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’m thinking about finding a village and opening a bookstore,” she says, although that’s only one of the ideas she’s had, and she’ll have to do a lot more research on the nearby villages if she’s going to make that one happen.

“You like to read?”

“I like to learn,” Lydia corrects. “I could write you a hundred-page treatise on Copernicus if you wanted.”

“Spare me,” Allison says. “You’d be a good knight, you know.”

“What, and try to rescue young girls who don’t want to be rescued?” Lydia asks, because she’s a good fighter, but she’s come to find the idea of knights so repulsive that the thought of actually being one has never crossed her mind.

“We do good things too, or at least we try. Most of the time, we’re actually protecting princesses from human men.”

As she falls asleep, she can’t help but think that being a knight might not be so bad.

\---

Lydia wakes up early by habit. Dragons get grumpy if they don’t get breakfast on time, and when they get grumpy, they wind up scorching their breakfast, and then Lydia has to make it again, which is never fun.

Allison, in contrast, wakes up slightly before noon.

“I guess I was really tired,” she says when she sees Lydia.

“What, long day of rescuing people who don’t want to be rescued?” Lydia says.

“You’re never going to let up on that, are you?”

“Never.”

There’s an awkward silence until Allison says, “I need to leave, don’t I?”

Lydia nods. For all her confidence the night before, she’s pretty sure Derek will flip out if he finds out Lydia has a knight staying with them. Actually, it’s a miracle that Derek doesn’t know already. Lydia supposes it’s fortunate that he’s been spending a lot of time brooding in a corner lately.

“Allison, last night, you said I would be a good knight. I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided I’m coming with you,” Lydia says, because it strikes her that if she’s going to leave to be a knight, she’d very much like to do it alongside Allison.

Allison smiles. “So does this mean I’m whisking you away from this cave after all?”

Lydia laughs. “If you even think about taking me back to my father’s palace, I will murder you in your sleep.”

“Good thing I have no plan on going there, then,” Allison says. “In all seriousness, are you ready to leave?”

Lydia nods. “I just need to say goodbye to Stiles and to Danny and to Cora, and I’ll be ready to go,” she says. If she were a better person, she’d say goodbye to more of the dragons and maybe to some of the younger kids, but, as is, she doesn’t really want to.

Allison smiles. “Sounds like a plan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the high fantasy AU square of my Femslash February trope bingo card. Many thanks to Attila for betaing this fic.


End file.
